Blood and Debts
by 1221bookworm
Summary: When Kaz needs a new safehouse, Wylan's is convenient. But everything has a cost - and a benefit. On both sides.


_**A/N: Just a quick idea I had of Kaz deciding that Wylan's house would be an excellent safe house, and Wylan's reaction to it.**_

 _ **A/N 2: I don't own Six of Crows. I only get to play with the characters and see how uncomfortable I can make them.**_

Blood and Debts

Wylan padded down the stairs, wondering why the light was on in his dining room. He specifically remembered turning off all the lights before going to bed. He and Jesper had even turned in early for once, so they could rise equally early to attend some meeting regarding his father's trial. A meeting that would probably result in a request for more funds for his legal aid fund. Wylan would not be disappointed to miss _that_ meeting. But unless Jesper had decided to stage some elaborate plan to get them out of attending, there was no reason for the lights to be on. All the servants had gone home for the night, and no one else had a key.

He shouldn't have been surprised to see the one person in Ketterdam who could get into any house without a key. Kaz Brekker had his back to the door, his low voice the only indication that he wasn't alone. Wylan couldn't quite make out who was sitting at the table, but there did seem to be blood on the floor. _A lot of blood_ he realized as he got closer.

"Took you long enough." Kaz spoke over his shoulder, and Wylan knew he shouldn't be surprised that Kaz sensed his presence. "We've been down here rattling around for ages."

Wylan rubbed his eyes. Jesper probably would have had a biting response to that. Wylan might have too, if it wasn't the middle of the night. So he said the only thing that came to mind. "What are you doing here?"

Kaz finally turned, and Wylan could see who he had been talking too. It was Pim, holding an already blood soaked cloth to some kind of gash on his leg. Wylan sucked in a breath through his teeth. Even from across the room, it didn't look good. There was a basin of water next to him, but it, too, was stained red. Pim smiled up at him, but it was strained. "Some of the bully boys from the Razorgulls decided they wanted to be the biggest, baddest gang in Ketterdam." He tried to grin, even though it came out more as a grimace, "They came out the worse for it."

"Anika went for one of our mediks," Kaz had disappeared into the kitchen, and came back with a new bowl of clear water. "This was close, and we didn't want to leave a trail all the way back to the Slat."

"Um, ok?" Wylan's voice didn't hold much authority. What could he say, really? He could tell Kaz to get out of his house, but Wylan hated to admit that he was still under Dregs protection, even now as he took over his family holdings. He didn't want to imagine the havoc that would be wrecked on his ships and properties once the other gangs decided he was a target for swindles and 'jobs' as they called them.

As he watched Pim try to staunch the bleeding, he couldn't help the knot of worry settling in his stomach. He was harboring criminals. While the wanted posters may have come down, there was no denying the undercurrent of rage at Kaz Brekker for his role in bringing Ketterdam to its knees as the _stadwatch_ had searched for Wylan and deputized gangs. And if the word leaked out that Kaz had also caused the plague sirens to sound, Wylan shuddered. He couldn't begin to imagine the hell that would break lose. Not that Kaz wouldn't find a way to come out on top of it all. Wylan just didn't want to be dragged into it again. He was creating his own reputation as a reputable merchant - and the fewer people who knew his connections to the Dregs the better.

But that didn't mean he would leave Pim to bleed to death in the street. Wylan remembered the beating Pim had administered for show in front of his father, and knew he could have made it much worse. Wylan owed him a roof and some bandages and clean clothes, at least. He shuffled over to the buffet and pulled out a stack of napkins that he carried over to Pim. Kaz raised his eyebrows at the contribution. Wylan shrugged. "They're hideous, I've been trying to destroy them for years. You'd be doing me a favor."

Pim grinned, "Maybe that's what got you started on demo."

"Kaz did what?" Jesper had managed to sleep through the entire ordeal, but that didn't stop him from having an opinion about it. "He's going to turn this into a safe house, merch, and then you can kiss your privacy goodbye. He'll be in and out of here like he owns it."

Wylan shook his head. "No, I don't think he will. It's too obvious. And too public. And way out of the way of anyplace that he'd be traveling-"

Jesper laughed, and reached out to pull on one of Wylan's curls. "I love it when you're so innocent. Those are exactly the reasons why Kaz _will_ make this a safe house. Oh, you just wait and see," he added as Wylan continued to shake his head. "If you don't put your foot down now, you'll lose the house."

Wylan chewed his lip. "Alright, I'll talk to him."

Jesper clapped him on the back. "We'll save that for another day. Let's go deny your father some money."

They didn't see Kaz for a week. Jesper had even offered to fetch Kaz from the Crow Club, but Wylan had refused, afraid the temptation to gamble would be too much for him. They still hadn't found anyone for Jesper to train with, but Wylan made sure he had time every day to tinker with his own work on his guns, and he noticed it had helped Jesper to become less restless. But he still wouldn't trust him near a game of cards or anywhere near Maker's Wheel. So their current plan was to wait for Kaz to come to them. Wylan was beginning to wonder if they should go to the Slat, at least. And if Wylan went with him, maybe Jesper wouldn't be dragged to the table by his old buddies ready to make a quick killing off Jesper's new found wealth.

As it turned out, Kaz finally showed up before they had to do anything desperate. But he wasn't alone. Or happy. "Roeder's going to be staying here for a few days." It wasn't even a question, Wylan thought indignantly. "He crossed one of the pigeons he was supposed to be spying on." Kaz sounded more annoyed than usual. "He's going to lie low for three days, then take a boat out of the city." He turned back to face Roeder. "I'll be back with the money to get you out. This is the one and only time I save your skin, Roeder. Next time, you make your own escape plans." Kaz didn't wait for anyone to respond. A few thunks later, and the sound of his cane couldn't even be heard leaving the house.

All three of them let out their collective held breath. Jesper clapped Roeder on the back. "Welcome to the Van Eck Dregs hotel. Our specialty is waffles and the security of being above the law." Wylan snorted. So much for standing up to Kaz.

Wylan and Jesper took turns keeping watch for Kaz for the next two and a half days. They were convinced he would slip in during the night, and they wanted to confront him about his use of Wylan's house. Or, at least if it ever came out in a court of law, they could claim they attempted to stop Kaz. According to what Jesper had found in the legal books in Wylan's father's library, intent was three quarters of the law. Wylan wasn't entirely convinced that alibi would stand up in court, but he was also placing a pretty large bet on never having to find out.

It was midnight and their appointed shift change as Wylan shook Jesper awake. Jesper had dozed off on his watch again, and Wylan had a sinking feeling they weren't going to catch Kaz at this rate. He guessed they had to console themselves with the fact that Kaz had made an art form out of sneaking into other people's houses.

"Don't you two ever sleep? He looks like he could use it." Kaz jerked his chin at Jesper to emphasize his point. Jesper chose that moment to yawn hugely.

"We were waiting for you, Kaz." Wylan hoped his voice sounded stronger to Kaz than it did in his own ears.

"I'm flattered."

"I'm not a member of the Dregs." There. He'd said it. "I'm not bound to you. Or your gang. My house is not your house." Short and to the point.

"That's true." Kaz turned the crows head on his cane, as if inspecting it for dirt. "Then why didn't you turn Roeder over to the _stadwatch_?"

Wylan was taken aback. "That would be cruel. You asked me to protect him and -"

"You kept your end of the bargain." Kaz tossed a small purse to Wylan. "That's Roeder's meal ticket. Make sure he gets all of it." That bit was directed at Jesper. "Was there anything else?"

Wylan shook his head mutely.

"Good. I'll see you around." Kaz turned to leave. "By the way, Roeder was watching Dryden to make sure he wasn't sabotaging your incoming shipments to get back at your father."

The door had clicked shut before Wylan or Jesper even moved.

Jesper stretched. "He's got us now, merchling. He's watching your back, so you're going to have to watch his from time to time. I can't say I haven't enjoyed having a bit of company around."

"Oh no you don't." Jesper had been eying the purse still in Wylan's grasp. "You're not going to tell Roeder he could double this money by betting against you in cards or anything else. Roeder is leaving with exactly the same amount of Kruge as I'm going to hand him right now. And I've got it counted already, so don't think you can trick me by changing the amount."

Jesper guffawed. "You should have given that speech to Kaz! His eyeballs would have bugged out. And you don't have that counted, by the way, but that was a cute bluff." He put his arm around Wylan's shoulder to lead him upstairs.

Wylan scrunched his nose in annoyance. "Figured it was worth a shot," he muttered.

Jesper plucked the purse from Wylan's hand, weighed it in his palm, and gave a low whistle. "This is a pretty good sum to get Roeder to safety. I've never know Kaz to be so generous."

Wylan shrugged. "Roeder is his spider. He has to make sure he's well paid enough to keep Kaz's secrets and not sell them to the highest bidder."

Jesper was shaking his head, looking at the purse in awe. "You don't cross Kaz. There's no buyer who could pay enough for it to be worth Kaz's revenge. Trust me on that. And Roeder's not even that great a spider if he got caught. I'm shocked Kaz is going through so much trouble to protect him instead of cutting him loose."

"It's because of Inej." Jesper turned to look at him in surprise. Wylan nodded to emphasize his point. "She always believed the best in people, and its rubbed off on Kaz. That's why he's giving Roeder a second chance. And why he was spying on Dryden in the first place," Wylan added, with dawning realization. "He's been looking out for my business interests all along."

Jesper squeezed his arm tighter around Wylan's shoulders as they reached the top of the stairs. "See what good company you found when you came to the Barrel? With friends like me and Kaz, you're empire will be even bigger than you're father's."

Wylan glanced back to where Kaz had disappeared. "The friends are even more important than the money, Jes. The friends are what keep us safe."

"I'll drink to that."

 _ **NaNoWriMo word count: 2,017**_


End file.
